JacobPassy

The Trump administration is removing safeguards that allowed the legal marijuana industry to thrive — and consumers need to pay attention.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday that he will rescind an Obama-era policy (known as the Cole memo) that protected states that legalized marijuana, either recreationally or for medical uses. The policy allowed states to legalize the federally-banned substance so long as they adhered to certain guidelines, such as making efforts to prevent marijuana from being brought into states where it was not legal.

As of now, it’s still unclear whether federal authorities will seek to prosecute dispensaries, grow houses and other cannabis-related businesses.

But if matters change, here is what consumers need to know:

Cannabis industry employees should hire a lawyer

If dispensaries and other marijuana businesses are targeted by authorities, employees could be at serious risk, said Hilary Bricken, an attorney with the law firm Harris Bricken. Before the Obama administration embraced the industry, cannabis businesses did get raided and employees were charged. “If they mounted a case against you with the DoJ and you’ve been instrumental in the success of the store or with sales, you are going to be prosecuted accordingly,” Bricken said.

Consequently, people who work for these businesses may want to seek out legal representation proactively. While the companies themselves will have lawyers, their employees’ well-being may not be top of mind. In a worst case scenario, federal authorities could freeze an employee’s bank account, because they were being paid to sell marijuana. “If your funds are frozen it’s going to be very difficult to get a lawyer on the line,” Bricken said.

To protect themselves, Smith also recommended that employees ensure their companies are complying with state regulations to reduce the scrutiny they face.

The most immediate consequences of the Sessions move would fall upon distributors and dispensaries, said Jesse Peters, chief executive of Oregon-based cannabis cultivation operation Eco Firma Farms. “People should not worry about going to jail over this,” he said. “At the consumer level this is nothing to be worried about, other than that it can interrupt your supply chain.”

If enough distributors were shut down to leave an excess of demand for marijuana with a limited supply, prices could skyrocket. The average price for a gram of marijuana in Washington state, where it has been legal since July 2014 is less than $8 per gram, and Peters said the price could see a significant increase, but not for a year or so under this proposed change. Before legalization, a gram of marijuana cost upwards of $20, and prices could return to those levels again.

—Kari Paul

Consumers should consider getting a medical marijuana card

The Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment prevents the federal government from interfering with legalized medical cannabis, so regardless of whether federal agents start cracking down on dispensaries for recreational use, card-holders should still have a steady supply of marijuana. A medical marijuana card can be obtained for health issues ranging from glaucoma and chronic pain to anxiety. If you live in a state that has legalized medical marijuana, consider seeing a doctor to see if you qualify.

While federal authorities are unlikely to have the bandwidth to prosecute specific individuals for possession, being at a major dispensary could now put a consumer at risk, Bricken said. She predicted that federal authorities will selectively target specific marijuana businesses — with the most prominent or popular ones being most at risk.

If a consumer is in a store when a raid happens, they may not get off scot-free. “It’s no-holds-barred — cannabis is still federally illegal so if you have a federal prosecutor that’s hot to trot on cannabis cases, you’re in the crosshairs,” Bricken said.

While Bricken didn’t caution consumers against visiting dispensaries altogether, she did say that they should be careful about which ones they choose to visit. The most widely advertised and outspoken businesses are more likely to be raided than smaller, local institutions.

—Jacob Passy

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